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By Patrick McMamanon
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 08:20 p.m. EDT, Jun 06, 2009
One recurring theme kept coming up when the leadership of the Cavaliers met the media this past week.
''It's a game of inches,'' owner Dan Gilbert said. ''It's a game that if the ball bounces one way or the other we wouldn't be having this conference here today.''
''A missed shot here, a loose ball there — getting a loose ball down in Orlando can change the whole complexion of the series,'' coach Mike Brown said. ''Now it goes from me sitting here questioning myself in this area and that area to getting prepared for the Lakers.''
The main plays the Cavs refer to are two: Rashard Lewis' game-winning 3-pointer in Game 1, and the loose ball that went off the hand of Delonte West and out of bounds in Game 4. After that loose ball, Lewis hit another 3-pointer to win another game.
Both were plays that hurt the Cavs badly, but the Cavs really can't look at themselves as only inches away from the Magic.
As far as inches go, these looked like a canyon.
This Cavs team, after all, blew double-digit leads in Games 1 and 2 at home — the second a 23-point lead — and devolved into a distressing display of one-on-five basketball at times.
The Cavs had issues with the Magic, specifically the lack of a strong interior big man to provide any challenge to their center, Dwight Howard, the lack of another scorer to help LeBron James and the lack of defenders big enough to guard Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis.
It's no secret the Cavs' offseason needs include a big man, a wing scorer with size and another guard, preferably a taller one.
Where to find those guys?
A player like Marcus Camby might be a nice addition if the Los Angeles Clippers are willing to trade him.
Marcin Gortat of the Magic is not a starter, but he could provide some minutes off the bench — though expecting him to guard Howard a lot wouldn't work well either.
Charlie Villanueva of the Milwaukee Bucks has the size (6-foot-11) and skills to challenge a guy like Lewis — if he learns to play defense.
Villanueva will be a restricted free agent, and he already told ESPN radio that he has his eye on the Cavs.
''I understand the situation Milwaukee is in financially,'' Villanueva said. ''They don't want to go over [the luxury-tax level]. Whatever team decides to make the best offer, I'm going to think about it.
''Cleveland definitely is not a bad spot. I've played with LeBron. I played with LeBron in the McDonald's All-America Game, and we played well together. Is there a possibility? Yes. Will it happen? Time will tell.''
Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors already has said he won't sign a contract extension this offseason. He's the guy the Cavs have targeted to join James in 2010 in their dream scenario.
Perhaps the Raptors would trade Bosh this offseason. It would take a lot, but why wait, and, more important, why allow him to go to a team like the Chicago Bulls, where he would torment the Cavs for years?
Finally, Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons will be a free agent and might be revived by joining the Cavs. His talent is intriguing, and James loves him, but Wallace's temper remains a huge headache.
If the Cavs want a scorer to contribute with size, they need only think of what the Magic got from Mickael Pietrus, who made big 3 after big 3.
When the Magic signed Pietrus, nobody expected him to do what he did to the Cavs, but he provided some big shots. And he's not a big-money guy.
Shawn Marion of the Raptors comes to mind, but he would cost a ton of money. So the Cavs might have to be a little more creative in finding a player.
A tall guy who can run and score would be a great help to James.
Tossing names around like this is easy, of course, because there's no salary-cap realities in this world. General Manager Danny Ferry must deal with these realities.
He also must balance the reality of a 66-win season with the disappointment of the playoffs.
To hear some, Mo Williams is a third guard and West a fourth.
That's simply not true. Both can play. West was the second-best player on the court in the series, especially in Game 6, and if Williams has the same attitude this offseason that he did last, he'll use his playoff experience to improve.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas will be back, and he has skills. He's just not made to guard Howard.
Keeping Anderson Varejao would be nice, but he might be a key chip in a sign-and-trade deal, as well. Ben Wallace's expiring contract also could be a huge trading chip.
But by next season, the Eastern Conference could look far different.
The Bulls showed a lot in the playoffs.
The Magic could lose Turkoglu to free agency (how would he look with the Cavs?).
And the Boston Celtics could have a healthy Kevin Garnett back.
Heck, even the Washington Wizards could be back in the playoff mix.
The offseason job for the Cavs won't be easy, but taking the last and final step forward usually is the most difficult.
There are positive signs. James is 24 and coming off an MVP season. He will be in his seventh season in the league in 2010. A guy named Jordan was 28 and in his seventh season when he won his first title.
A 66-win season provides much on which to build.
But the Cavs also can't delude themselves into thinking inches made the difference in the East finals.
To make the next step, they need to go beyond the inches and take some strides.
But . . . in an odd way, the fact that the Cavs can talk about inches is a testament to how hard they competed and how well James played.
Because a team that needs strides really has no business being that close.
NEXT YEAR, SHAKE HANDS
Much was made of James' handshake issue after Game 6. Perhaps too much.
But when James is involved anything is a major issue.
So when he walked off the court in Orlando, Fla., after Game 6 without shaking hands, it became just that.
James was lambasted, taken apart, blasted in the national media.
Part of the reason was he made a mistake, part that the national media's focus is always on him, and part that the national media was focusing on the NBA, what with the Finals approaching and no teams playing for a few days.
It seems the roots of this mistake were planted a year ago, when James walked off the court in Boston after Game 7 without shaking hands.
Nobody made a big deal of it then.
But perhaps that would have been the time to tell James not to do it again. Or perhaps James was told and he still couldn't bring himself to shake hands, because he was so disappointed and angry.
The entire handshake thing is interesting (now is when Seinfeld comes in with ''Who came up with the idea of the HAND-shake anyway?'').
Hockey pretty much requires it. The NBA has a good record. The NFL is OK. Baseball's congratulations come privately — the New York Yankees' Johnny Damon waited outside the Indians' clubhouse in 2007 to congratulate Indians players.
NBA commissioner David Stern said the handshake is a matter of values.
There is no doubt that James is sincere when he said he congratulated the Magic.
And there is no doubt he simply could not bring himself to do it on the court. He was that frustrated.
''Nobody's perfect,'' Gilbert said. ''Nobody in the world can do 100 percent of the things that are always looked upon as the right thing to do every single time. I think overall this guy's got a pretty doggone good track record.''
Yes, he does.
James has never been arrested. He did not challenge an official. He has almost always conducted himself in the best of ways.
He made a mistake, and he got hammered pretty good for it.
It's time to let it go — because it's pretty much a lock it won't happen again.
MORE CAVS
• Former NFL coach Tony Dungy called James ''a beautiful person'' but said his actions after the 'loss to the Magic were ''a disappointment.'' Dungy continued: ''It will be a challenge for Mike Brown. How do you guide a young man and not crush his spirit? You learn from your experiences, and I think this will be something he learns from.''
• A statistical oddity from the East final: All the Cavs' key players — James, Williams, West and Varejao averaged more points in the Magic series than they did in the regular season. Which might indicate that defending the unique problems the Magic presented was a bigger issue than the team's offense.
• One concern that came from the Cavs' final eight playoff games was the tendency to revert to one-on-five basketball. It worked in a couple of instances — specifically Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks and Game 5 against the Magic, when James single-handedly was responsible for 32 consecutive points via scoring or assists.
But championship basketball teams play team basketball, and the Cavs need to continue to stress the importance of moving the ball and running the offense. There were too many times against the Magic when James ran the old ''I'm stopping the ball and dribbling until I find a shot'' play.
James is a great, great player, but one can't always beat five.
• It would be nice to see James take the ball into the low post more. Given his strength, it's hard to envision anyone stopping him there, and his passing ability would make a double-team irrelevant.
Perhaps this could be his offseason focus.
• It was kind of humorous to read stories about Pietrus being ''The LeBron Stopper.''
How's that work?
A guy averages nearly 40 points a game and shoots 50 percent, and someone is ''stopping'' him.
Amazing how perceptions can be created.
• Gilbert said the signed deal that is bringing in a group of investors from China was a case of buying out an old partner (David Katzman). ''So there was no money coming into the Cavaliers as a result of this transaction,'' he said. But there also was no money going out of Gilbert's bank account to buy out Katzman.
• He was asked if the Cavs were in trouble financially, or if the team made money. His response: ''with this payroll, we're in the break-even neighborhood.''
AND FINALLY
It would be inappropriate not to mention Dick Jacobs, the former Indians owner who died Friday.
Jacobs saved a franchise and helped provide the area with a gleaming new stadium that has been a joy.
Jacobs showed his shrewd business acumen by getting the public to vote to pay for the stadium and getting out when he did, but he also rebuilt the Indians' farm system, signed young players to lucrative deals and had the Indians three outs from a World Series win.
It's a frightening thought to consider where the Indians would be had he not bought the team.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohio.com/mcmanamon/. Follow Pat on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/patmcmanamon.
One recurring theme kept coming up when the leadership of the Cavaliers met the media this past week.
''It's a game of inches,'' owner Dan Gilbert said. ''It's a game that if the ball bounces one way or the other we wouldn't be having this conference here today.''
''A missed shot here, a loose ball there — getting a loose ball down in Orlando can change the whole complexion of the series,'' coach Mike Brown said. ''Now it goes from me sitting here questioning myself in this area and that area to getting prepared for the Lakers.''
The main plays the Cavs refer to are two: Rashard Lewis' game-winning 3-pointer in Game 1, and the loose ball that went off the hand of Delonte West and out of bounds in Game 4. After that loose ball, Lewis hit another 3-pointer to win another game.
Both were plays that hurt the Cavs badly, but the Cavs really can't look at themselves as only inches away from the Magic.
As far as inches go, these looked like a canyon.
This Cavs team, after all, blew double-digit leads in Games 1 and 2 at home — the second a 23-point lead — and devolved into a distressing display of one-on-five basketball at times.
The Cavs had issues with the Magic, specifically the lack of a strong interior big man to provide any challenge to their center, Dwight Howard, the lack of another scorer to help LeBron James and the lack of defenders big enough to guard Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis.
It's no secret the Cavs' offseason needs include a big man, a wing scorer with size and another guard, preferably a taller one.
Where to find those guys?
A player like Marcus Camby might be a nice addition if the Los Angeles Clippers are willing to trade him.
Marcin Gortat of the Magic is not a starter, but he could provide some minutes off the bench — though expecting him to guard Howard a lot wouldn't work well either.
Charlie Villanueva of the Milwaukee Bucks has the size (6-foot-11) and skills to challenge a guy like Lewis — if he learns to play defense.
Villanueva will be a restricted free agent, and he already told ESPN radio that he has his eye on the Cavs.
''I understand the situation Milwaukee is in financially,'' Villanueva said. ''They don't want to go over [the luxury-tax level]. Whatever team decides to make the best offer, I'm going to think about it.
''Cleveland definitely is not a bad spot. I've played with LeBron. I played with LeBron in the McDonald's All-America Game, and we played well together. Is there a possibility? Yes. Will it happen? Time will tell.''
Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors already has said he won't sign a contract extension this offseason. He's the guy the Cavs have targeted to join James in 2010 in their dream scenario.
Perhaps the Raptors would trade Bosh this offseason. It would take a lot, but why wait, and, more important, why allow him to go to a team like the Chicago Bulls, where he would torment the Cavs for years?
Finally, Rasheed Wallace of the Detroit Pistons will be a free agent and might be revived by joining the Cavs. His talent is intriguing, and James loves him, but Wallace's temper remains a huge headache.
If the Cavs want a scorer to contribute with size, they need only think of what the Magic got from Mickael Pietrus, who made big 3 after big 3.
When the Magic signed Pietrus, nobody expected him to do what he did to the Cavs, but he provided some big shots. And he's not a big-money guy.
Shawn Marion of the Raptors comes to mind, but he would cost a ton of money. So the Cavs might have to be a little more creative in finding a player.
A tall guy who can run and score would be a great help to James.
Tossing names around like this is easy, of course, because there's no salary-cap realities in this world. General Manager Danny Ferry must deal with these realities.
He also must balance the reality of a 66-win season with the disappointment of the playoffs.
To hear some, Mo Williams is a third guard and West a fourth.
That's simply not true. Both can play. West was the second-best player on the court in the series, especially in Game 6, and if Williams has the same attitude this offseason that he did last, he'll use his playoff experience to improve.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas will be back, and he has skills. He's just not made to guard Howard.
Keeping Anderson Varejao would be nice, but he might be a key chip in a sign-and-trade deal, as well. Ben Wallace's expiring contract also could be a huge trading chip.
But by next season, the Eastern Conference could look far different.
The Bulls showed a lot in the playoffs.
The Magic could lose Turkoglu to free agency (how would he look with the Cavs?).
And the Boston Celtics could have a healthy Kevin Garnett back.
Heck, even the Washington Wizards could be back in the playoff mix.
The offseason job for the Cavs won't be easy, but taking the last and final step forward usually is the most difficult.
There are positive signs. James is 24 and coming off an MVP season. He will be in his seventh season in the league in 2010. A guy named Jordan was 28 and in his seventh season when he won his first title.
A 66-win season provides much on which to build.
But the Cavs also can't delude themselves into thinking inches made the difference in the East finals.
To make the next step, they need to go beyond the inches and take some strides.
But . . . in an odd way, the fact that the Cavs can talk about inches is a testament to how hard they competed and how well James played.
Because a team that needs strides really has no business being that close.
NEXT YEAR, SHAKE HANDS
Much was made of James' handshake issue after Game 6. Perhaps too much.
But when James is involved anything is a major issue.
So when he walked off the court in Orlando, Fla., after Game 6 without shaking hands, it became just that.
James was lambasted, taken apart, blasted in the national media.
Part of the reason was he made a mistake, part that the national media's focus is always on him, and part that the national media was focusing on the NBA, what with the Finals approaching and no teams playing for a few days.
It seems the roots of this mistake were planted a year ago, when James walked off the court in Boston after Game 7 without shaking hands.
Nobody made a big deal of it then.
But perhaps that would have been the time to tell James not to do it again. Or perhaps James was told and he still couldn't bring himself to shake hands, because he was so disappointed and angry.
The entire handshake thing is interesting (now is when Seinfeld comes in with ''Who came up with the idea of the HAND-shake anyway?'').
Hockey pretty much requires it. The NBA has a good record. The NFL is OK. Baseball's congratulations come privately — the New York Yankees' Johnny Damon waited outside the Indians' clubhouse in 2007 to congratulate Indians players.
NBA commissioner David Stern said the handshake is a matter of values.
There is no doubt that James is sincere when he said he congratulated the Magic.
And there is no doubt he simply could not bring himself to do it on the court. He was that frustrated.
''Nobody's perfect,'' Gilbert said. ''Nobody in the world can do 100 percent of the things that are always looked upon as the right thing to do every single time. I think overall this guy's got a pretty doggone good track record.''
Yes, he does.
James has never been arrested. He did not challenge an official. He has almost always conducted himself in the best of ways.
He made a mistake, and he got hammered pretty good for it.
It's time to let it go — because it's pretty much a lock it won't happen again.
MORE CAVS
• Former NFL coach Tony Dungy called James ''a beautiful person'' but said his actions after the 'loss to the Magic were ''a disappointment.'' Dungy continued: ''It will be a challenge for Mike Brown. How do you guide a young man and not crush his spirit? You learn from your experiences, and I think this will be something he learns from.''
• A statistical oddity from the East final: All the Cavs' key players — James, Williams, West and Varejao averaged more points in the Magic series than they did in the regular season. Which might indicate that defending the unique problems the Magic presented was a bigger issue than the team's offense.
• One concern that came from the Cavs' final eight playoff games was the tendency to revert to one-on-five basketball. It worked in a couple of instances — specifically Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks and Game 5 against the Magic, when James single-handedly was responsible for 32 consecutive points via scoring or assists.
But championship basketball teams play team basketball, and the Cavs need to continue to stress the importance of moving the ball and running the offense. There were too many times against the Magic when James ran the old ''I'm stopping the ball and dribbling until I find a shot'' play.
James is a great, great player, but one can't always beat five.
• It would be nice to see James take the ball into the low post more. Given his strength, it's hard to envision anyone stopping him there, and his passing ability would make a double-team irrelevant.
Perhaps this could be his offseason focus.
• It was kind of humorous to read stories about Pietrus being ''The LeBron Stopper.''
How's that work?
A guy averages nearly 40 points a game and shoots 50 percent, and someone is ''stopping'' him.
Amazing how perceptions can be created.
• Gilbert said the signed deal that is bringing in a group of investors from China was a case of buying out an old partner (David Katzman). ''So there was no money coming into the Cavaliers as a result of this transaction,'' he said. But there also was no money going out of Gilbert's bank account to buy out Katzman.
• He was asked if the Cavs were in trouble financially, or if the team made money. His response: ''with this payroll, we're in the break-even neighborhood.''
AND FINALLY
It would be inappropriate not to mention Dick Jacobs, the former Indians owner who died Friday.
Jacobs saved a franchise and helped provide the area with a gleaming new stadium that has been a joy.
Jacobs showed his shrewd business acumen by getting the public to vote to pay for the stadium and getting out when he did, but he also rebuilt the Indians' farm system, signed young players to lucrative deals and had the Indians three outs from a World Series win.
It's a frightening thought to consider where the Indians would be had he not bought the team.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohio.com/mcmanamon/. Follow Pat on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/patmcmanamon.
Comments
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cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 10:32 PM, 06/06/2009
i guess sports writers still drink heavily, glazing their ability to read or understand english...while any of these are helpful concepts to team improvement, nothing can be traded, drafted or bought that keeps 23 point leads except the players we already have, of and by themselves
we should be playing the Lakers
what is the point of all of this fantasizing had we been doing that?
moronic, foolish, and impractical
doesn't any other player besides lebron get to improve and grow?
what we really need are sports writers who grasp sports
cleveland, oh
Posted 08:54 AM, 06/07/2009
If I was as good as Kobe and Dwight Howard maybe I would be playing to night
YOUR 2008/2009 MVC (most valuable choker)
Letravel James
Check this out
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=477816803
Posted 09:08 AM, 06/07/2009
Regarding Dick Jacobs: Jeez, you would have thought the Pope died. People around here have very short memories. Before the gutless media around here (Cleveland-Akron-Canton-Lorain-Elyria)annoint Jacobs to sainthood lets remember a couple things. This is the same guy who, immediately after he bought the team on the cheap, announced that he wasn't going to put a dollar of his own money into it until he got a new stadium. What that means is unless you fans pony up this team is outta here. That's why the team sucked from the time he bought it until 1994. Also, only Dick Jacobs, knowing that Cleveland fans are at best fairly stupid, perpetrate a fraud by selling $50 million dollars worth of paper to the local dolts out there. "Hey, you can be a part-owner of the Indians (not really) if you buy this worthless piece of paper(not really stock) because my revenue is tapped out and I need to swindle you idiots one more time before I swindle a Dolan". Only in Cleveland could fans shell out $50 million for a worthless piece of paper. Lets call off the "sainthood" annointment and look at the facts. After all that the team still never won anything !!
Canton, OH
Posted 09:28 AM, 06/07/2009
Man, I miss Pluto & Windhorst. . .
Posted 09:58 AM, 06/07/2009
Kudos to Patrick for calling out LeBron's one-against-five offense, as it was instrumental in helping lose significant leads, interrupting successful flow and stagnating the entire team.
James is a great player---as if anyone needs to be told---but he has his faults and some of them do not contribute to winning against the better teams.
Pietrus' play only surprised those unfamiliar with his game. He's always been capable from 3, matches-up excellently defensively, runs extremely well, is alert and team-oriented and just the type of role player a championship roster needs. Hence, I'd advocated for him as a Cavalier for years. Now area fans know why.
For all the good Jacobs did---and saving MLB in Cleveland is no minor thing---he also was the one twiddling his thumbs in search of a buyer to exploit while the clock ticked on extending Thome and Manny, two talents who should never have been allowed to leave Cleveland. All in pursuit of another favorable business deal; all in pursuit of yet another dollar. That's business, I guess.
Paradise, Oh
Posted 03:44 PM, 06/07/2009
I don't think Coach Brown did a good job in the Magics series.
Shudda wudda cudda!
It ain't up to me.
Snydertown, OH
Posted 12:57 PM, 06/08/2009
Well don't forget folks, Cleveland is the inlet for good talent. We get 'em, they begin to make a name for themselves and then they leave for the real cash that this town will NEVER pay them. Then they became even bigger (more expensive) stars elsewhere.
The Cavs needed a (or maybe even more than one) bigger, more mobile body for the post at the start of this season. I don't even watch much NBA and I knew that. And look what we got. I hope they get it for next year.
Apple Creek, Oh
Posted 09:30 PM, 06/11/2009
I think Z needs to pack it in and retire because a 7 foot 3 inch center who would rather shoot threes than dumk is a weak and relatively worthless center in the NBA.
That said Lebron was a machine in the whole playoffs but basketball is a "TEAM" sport and when noone else wants to step up and get the job done, as they didn't in the Orlando series, the Cavaliers need to address their problem with being too small at shooting guard and too weak at center!!!
Posted 07:37 PM, 06/12/2009
A fundamental problem for the Cavaliers was the way Mike Brown waved the white flag from the start - and his players dutifully followed - by saying up front the series presented "match up problems". The hell with that approach. You never concede that at the beginning of the series. You assume, and you assume your players assume, you can get the job done. By putting doubt in their mind Brown started the Cavs on the way to a losing series. That is why he has to go. I'm not happy to say it. I like Brown. He has done a great job up until this point. But this point was critical. And I have to wonder how much will the players reall listen to him now. What else can he say to them?
